Dive Brief:
- B&G Foods, Inc. net sales increased 20.8% to $413.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2016. Sales surged 44% to $1.39 billion for the year as the company digested a number of acquisitions, according to a company earnings report.
- The company reported consumer marketing spending rose 208.5% to $28.8 million for the quarter and 148.2% to $69.6 million for the year.
- Adjusted net income dropped 22.2% to $19.4 million in the fourth quarter, but rose 51% to $131.1 million for the year. Diluted earnings per share increased 5.3% to $0.20 for the quarter and 41.8% to $1.73 for the year.
Dive Insight:
B&G Foods, Inc. finished 2016 with two acquisitions: spices and seasonings business ACH Foods in November and Victoria Fine Foods in December. These contributed more than $30 million in sales for the quarter.
In the report, President and CEO Robert C. Cantwell noted the company has almost doubled in size in the past two years. This has led to significant opportunities, but the company the same challenges as others, such as increased competition for commodities like maple syrup.
“For 2017 our top priorities are to deliver superior customer service, stabilize our core portfolio of brands through strategic and tactical marketing support, continue to harness the power and positive momentum of the Green Giant brand to drive top-line growth, and successfully integrate our two most recent acquisitions,” Cantwell said in the report. “We have a significant amount of work ahead of us in 2017, but my confidence in our team and our ability to deliver results and achieve our goals is as strong as ever.”
B&G Foods has succeeded through acquisitive growth by making sound investments. It has found resounding success with the Green Giant brand, which it purchased in November 2015. B&G relaunched the iconic brand with new products and an innovative marketing campaign that helped improve sales. The practice has become standard at B&G: buy a struggling brand like Green Giant that can be turned around to contribute to profits and growth.
In January, Cantwell announced at a conference that B&G Foods is on the hunt for its next big acquisition, though there have been no clues so far as to what it could be.